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The more writers I befriend, the more I realize how exposed and fearful we feel on the day our content is published. It's incredibly vulnerable to put your voice out into the world, and we need extra prayers on those days, whether we’ve posted a blog post, shared thoughts on a podcast, released a book or product, or spoken to a group.

So, writer friends, this prayer is written for you, and especially for the precious friends in my writing group. (HI, PALS!) You can download a copy to keep saved on your phone or desktop by clicking here or just saving the image below. It may be a good addition to your publication day process. I hope that it offers perspective and encouragement to you on publication day as you bravely surrender the words you’ve been given.

Nesting is a curious thing mothers universally do, tirelessly carrying the proverbial sticks in our beaks to create a place for our babies to belong. I remember hoisting our living room rug out the front door at 40 weeks because I decided it was too disgusting to be in the presence of my baby girl. Now that baby girl is four, and I still go to great efforts to make sure things around our home are functioning well for her and her little brother (though I haven’t irrationally tossed anything out the front door in a while).

Recently, my two kids started sharing a room, and I noticed how the preparation for the change felt like love.

Adelaide was three weeks old in this picture, but she and her daddy still look at one other like this. She's our oldest, and during those newborn months, the weight and magic of my new motherhood and my husband's new fatherhood astounded me. Who were we to be entrusted with someone so precious?

During those months, I came across a quote from Hayley DiMarco that I've never forgotten: "A girl's father is her first love, her evidence that there truly is a God and that he truly loves her."

If I was your mother, I’d warn you that people will tell you to be a “good girl” or a “good boy.” It’ll feel like a badge of honor, and you’ll want to hustle to earn it. But as a former good girl, I want to tell you the truth about that badge: It’s dangerous.

It makes you think goodness is something you can manufacture or hustle for. Something someone else can proclaim over you in approval: “Yay! You followed these rules! Good girl.”

"But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.'" Isaiah 43:1

Names matter. My parents named me “Caroline,” and somehow that particular string of letters feels eternally linked to who I am, as if they line my DNA like biological alphabet soup. (It’s weird because they could have named me something else, like Karen or Bubbalicious or Raisin Bran, and I’m sure I’d feel just as connected to those series of letters if they had.) Praise the Lord, even though Dad actually loves Raisin Bran, my folks thought carefully and chose Caroline, just for me.

Hi, I'm Caroline! My thing is "taking Jesus seriously (and not much else)" because I think the world is in desperate need of BIG, REAL faith and BIG, REAL laughter. I love to seek him with my whole heart and to help other women do the same (and all the while, having the freedom to laugh at ourselves, be weird, and splash around in the hilarity and delight that abundant life has to offer). I tend to hang out a lot on Instagram, so I'd love to connect with you over there!